2011 Tahoe Z71 Build Thread

[mattjones]

A few weeks ago my wife had a flat tire so I let her take my '08 Tahoe to run some errands. Unfortunately some guy decided to get good and drunk at 7pm on a Monday and drive home, causing an accident with my wife and totaling the Tahoe. The thread with story and pics can be found here:

https://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/thr...h-a-drunk-driver-the-tahoe-is-totaled.110809/

Anyways, I ended up picking up a 2011 Z71 Tahoe with about half the miles of the last one (75k).



I test drove a 2015 but it just felt sluggish compared to the NNBS.

It came with captains chairs, Bose sound system, DVD player, touch screen, backup camera, sunroof, etc. Very similar features to my last Tahoe--it wasn't a Z71 and didn't have the touchscreen nav system, but other than that the last one had pretty much the same features, plus an intake/exhaust, 20" wheels, brushguard, and a nice tint. I had Weathertech allweather floormats in the last Hoe and this one came with the Weathertech floorliners. Call me crazy but I actually prefer the floormats. I'll really miss the tan interior of my last one, but I love the black exterior of the new one.



Issues I've noticed so far (all minor):
-The previous owner removed the moldings on the doors. I love the look of Tahoes without the moldings (like the PPV Tahoes), however they managed to scratch up the paint removing them. I've buffed some of the scratches out with NuFinish but I've still got some work to do before they're gone
-Rear window washer fluid doesn't spray out
-One of the daytime running lights is out
-Caps are broken off of both of the cigarette lighter plugs

Here's what I've done so far:
-Upgrade to Bosch windshield wipers
-K&N air filter
-Airaid intake tube
-Plasti dip rims black
-Upgrade reverse lights to LED projectors

And here's what I plan to do:
-Paint calipers red
-Tint
-Exhaust OR resonator delete with SLP
-Upgrade touchscreen to an aftermarket with Apple Carplay
-LED bulbs in daytime running lights
-Brushguard

A few ideas that I'm playing with but might not necessarily do:
-Black it out: black grill, smoke tail lights
-Upgrade headlights to something like this
-Lift it





Pour one out for the old Tahoe:

 

[Chrismnj]

Thats what I like about these trucks, it will protect you when needed.

 

[mattjones]

As I said in the OP I plasti dipped the rims black. Here's the way I did it--it was my first time plasti dipping and ultimately I learned a lot and would do it differently next time. I was able to do all four rims with two cans. These pics aren't all of the same wheel but you get the idea:



Wash the rims, then stuff some grocery bags in the rim to protect the rotor/caliper/brakes. Make sure the rims are COMPLETELY dry. I'd recommend washing them, drying them, and then moving the Tahoe so you rotate the wheels a little bit before you put the plastic bags in there. It seemed like random droplets of water would just appear the entire time I was doing this. Water WILL mess up the plasti dipping.



I lined the edge of the rims with a deck of cards like the how-to's online say--I would not do this again. It was a ***** to get the cards to actually stick between the tire and rim (hence the painters tape) and when you pull the cards out they pull the plasti dip off the edge of the rim. Lining the rims with cards took like 80% of the total time I spent on this. It's easier to just let the plasti dip get on the tire and peel it off later. Use a razor to cut it away from the rim.



First coat. You ultimately want the plasti dip to be on there thick, however each individual coat should be very light. Don't be afraid to do 5+ coats. The trick is to make sure the plasti dip doesn't drip. Keep it light and put a ton of coats on.



Another coat



A few coats later



A day later. I ended up doing the final coat without the cards since they had pulled the plasti dip off the edges. There's still a little on the tire in this pic but it will come off.

I didn't use the glossifier because I read it doesn't do much. If i did it again I would probably try using it though.


I may pull the dip off and redo it at some point since there are spots where you can see it kind of dripped and ran if you look closely but for now it's not bad. If I leave the rims black I'm also going to paint the calipers red at some point.

 

[trailblazer]

I watched a YouTube vid where the guy coats the tire surface with Vaseline instead of cards. Works great.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[mattjones]

I watched a YouTube vid where the guy coats the tire surface with Vaseline instead of cards. Works great.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Shit, that’s a great idea. I’m probably going to peel the plasti dip off and redo it this summer when I paint the calipers. I’ll definitely try the Vaseline trick. I’d imagine having the wheels off the truck would also cut down on the plasti dip running as well

 

[mattjones]

Airaid intake tube vs stock



It’s easy to tell one is built for efficiency and one is built to stay quiet.







Ignore the terrible lawn. I had to kill off carpet grass so I can plant fresh seed.

 

[The_Burban]

With that brush guard... did airbags deploy?

Frame damage or why total?

Glad wife is OK.

 

[mattjones]

With that brush guard... did airbags deploy?

Frame damage or why total?

Glad wife is OK.

Air bags did deploy.



They didn’t tell me if there was frame damage, basically just “it’s totaled.” The brush guard and front end were destroyed, hoses were broken and liquids were leaking, the passenger door couldn’t open. They gave me $5k over kbb value so even though I loved that truck I’m not too upset in hindsight. It definitely reduces anxiety having a Tahoe with half the mileage now—I’m not constantly waiting for something to break.

 

[08HoeCD]

How’s your wife?

 

[mattjones]

She seemed fine at the scene when her adrenaline was going but as she calmed down her back started to hurt. Went to the hospital that night and they prescribed muscle relaxers. It got pretty bad in the days afterwards but she’s been seeing a doctor and a chiropractor and it’s been getting better.

We didn’t realize it at first but the crash really jacked up her spine. The chiropractor pointed out that one shoulder was clearly higher than the other and an x-ray showed her neck was lacking a lot of its curvature. She actually had seen a chiropractor last year so we were able to compare her new xrays to the notes from last time and it’s clear that the crash caused a lot of misalignment.

Overall she’s doing alright though. She’s had to deal with a lot of pain and discomfort as well as time away from work, especially right after the accident, but she’s definitely improving. We’re just glad it wasn’t worse.